Petur Hannes Olafsson-Buddyphones Inflight Kids Headphones

At Design Interviews

(Excerpt) Interview with Petur Hannes Olafsson : Frank Scott: What is the main principle, idea and inspiration behind your design?. Petur Hannes Olafsson : Traveling with kids is seldom hassle free and served as inspiration to create headphones that withstand being crammed into backpacks in chaotic situations, offer a 3-volume setting of 75db, 85db and 94db to tackle noisy situation such as travelling by airplane, allowing parents to control the volume depending on environment. The In-Flight BuddyPhones are designed for little travellers to enjoy their trip, protect their hearing, share with buddies, and buy mom and dad a little peace and quiet. .Frank Scott: What has been your main focus in designing this work? Especially what did you want to achieve?. Petur Hannes Olafsson : Our main focus was giving the parents control over how to use the product, depending on different environment. With a volume limiting circuitry that caps at 85db, as recommended by the WHO for kids, InFlight BuddyPhones offer a 3 volume setting of 75db, 85db and 94db, allowing parents to control the volume. While 94db is great for louder situations, 75db is viable for children with sensitive hearing, attention deficits and autism. .Frank Scott: What are your future plans for this award winning design?. Petur Hannes Olafsson : We want to build the awareness for safe kids listening and as well finding right partners to bring our product to market. Third part is continue our journey of making the safest kids headphones on the market. .Frank Scott: How long did it take you to design this particular concept?. Petur Hannes Olafsson : The project started in June 2015 and finished in February 2016 in Hong Kong. .Frank Scott: Why did you design this particular concept? Was this design commissioned or did you decide to pursuit an inspiration?. Petur Hannes Olafsson : BuddyPhones InFlight is the result of a pursuit of pure inspiration, which is travelling with kids and how we can make it easier. .Frank Scott: Is your design being produced or used by another company, or do you plan to sell or lease the production rights or do you intent to produce your work yourself?. Petur Hannes Olafsson : We do all our production ourselves through contract manufacturing, so everything is under the umbrella brand onanoff and name of Buddyphones .Frank Scott: What made you design this particular type of work?. Petur Hannes Olafsson : We wanted to make travelling with your family a little bit easier and more enjoyable. Offering quality headphones for kids with a 3-volume setting of 75db, 85db and 94db to tackle noisy situation such as travelling by airplane, and allowing parents to control the volume depending on environment. We also wanted to design headphones that are sturdy and durable, so we created foldable headbands that are less likely to snap if they are sat on, dropped or twisted. Soft and flexible to withstand pulling yet sturdy enough to hold its shape. .Frank Scott: Where there any other designs and/or designers that helped the influence the design of your work?. Petur Hannes Olafsson : My amazing team at onanoff all had valuable input in the design process, as well as the kids who gave our prototypes a test run. Their feedback, as well as their parent&#039;s feedback was very important for us to make the best BuddyPhones InFlight we possibly could. .Frank Scott: Who is the target customer for his design?. Petur Hannes Olafsson : Target customers are kids of all ages and parents who want to protect their children&#039;s delicate hearing, but still have the option of controlling the volume in different situations such as while travelling by air. .Frank Scott: What sets this design apart from other similar or resembling concepts?. Petur Hannes Olafsson : After researching the market we realised there was a lack of high quality volume limiting headphones for kids that would a tackle noisy situation like airplanes. BuddyPhones InFlight offer a 3 volume setting of 75db, 85db and 94db, allowing parents to control the volume. While 94db is great for louder situations, 75db is viable for children with sensitive hearing, attention deficits and autism. Durable, comfortable with soft ear pads, two prong plug, foldable handles, and can be adjusted to fit. Four audio cables can connect to one device for sharing. .Frank Scott: How did you come up with the name for this design? What does it mean?. Petur Hannes Olafsson : BuddyPhones InFlight are all about sharing, safety and travelling. They are aptly named BuddyPhones as they are designed to be shared with you best buddy. Up to four buddies can share one device squabble-free, using the BuddyCable audio splitter. InFlight because their design allows you to tackle noisy situation such as travelling by airplane. .Frank Scott: Which design tools did you use when you were working on this project?. Petur Hannes Olafsson : Autocad, Illustrator, Photoshop. .Frank Scott: What is the most unique aspect of your design?. Petur Hannes Olafsson : With a volume limiting circuitry that caps at 85db, as recommended by the WHO for kids, InFlight BuddyPhones offer a 3 volume setting of 75db, 85db and 94db, allowing parents to control the volume. While 94db is great for louder situations, 75db is viable for children with sensitive hearing, attention deficits and autism. Durable, comfortable with soft ear pads, two prong plug, foldable handles, and can be adjusted to fit. Four audio cables can connect to one device for sharing. .Frank Scott: Who did you collaborate with for this design? Did you work with people with technical / specialized skills?. Petur Hannes Olafsson : After first testing we worked with acoustic experts and local audiologists to get the best safe quality sound as well mechanical engineers to make it robust enough and that the materials where safe. We worked as well with different parties to ensure the social compliance of our manufacturing partners. .Frank Scott: What is the role of technology in this particular design?. Petur Hannes Olafsson : BuddyPhones are made from robust materials, ABS housing and headband made of specially calibrated polyproplene that bends. We designed them to be c.[ End of Excerpt: Read complete interview with Petur Hannes Olafsson on Buddyphones Inflight Kids Headphones at design-interviews.com ]